After the shooting in Aurora, Colorado early this morning that left at least 12 people dead, one lawmaker in Missouri is calling for stricter gun laws.

The shooter in entered the movie theater in a suburb of Denver with three guns, including a semi-automatic assault rifle.

"What this really goes back to is the availability of weapons," said Missouri State Representative Stacey Newman, a Democrat of St. Louis County. She said last night's tragedy should restart dialogue about gun legislation in Missouri.

"These lax regulations basically flood the market with weapons, and you know, the more guns out there, the more we're going to see tragedies like today."

She blames the National Riffle Association, which she says aggressively courts lawmakers, pushing a gun-friendly agenda.

"We see it every single session. It's to lower the age of concealed weapons. It's to make it easier to obtain additional guns."

"People are killing people. The gun is the instrument," said State Representative Gary Cross, a Republican of Kansas City. He's supported pro-gun-rights legislation last session, and was called out for "special recognition" in an NRA newsletter earlier this year. He said tighter gun laws won't stop violence.

"If a person wants a gun bad enough, they're going to get it. If they want a gun bad enough they’re going to get it."

The Missouri legislature considered several pro-gun measures this past session, including a bill that would prohibit discrimination against people legally carrying concealed weapons.